Manufacturing method for a golf club head

ABSTRACT

A manufacturing method for a golf club head includes the steps of: prefabricating a main-body wax pattern and a striking-plate wax pattern, the main-body wax pattern providing with a rear opening and the striking-plate wax pattern providing with a stepped portion; initially combining the main-body wax pattern with the striking-plate wax pattern that remains an adhesive-filling groove between the rear opening of the main-body wax pattern and the stepped portion of the striking-plate wax pattern; filling adhesive into the adhesive-filling groove to constitute a combination member of the main-body wax pattern and the striking-plate wax pattern; immersing the combination member in slurry to form a ceramic shell and heating the ceramic shell for lost-wax processing; and pouring a melting alloy into the ceramic shell to form a club head casting.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a manufacturing method for a golf club head. More particularly, the present invention relates to the method of remaining an adhesive-filling groove between an opening of a main-body wax pattern and a striking-plate wax pattern and filling the groove with adhesive to form a smooth surface thereon.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring initially to FIGS. 1 through 3, Taiwanese Pat. Publication No. 514574 discloses a manufacturing method for a golf club head. The manufacturing method includes the steps of: 1

1. Separately prefabricating two wax patterns 10, 20, as shown in FIG. 1. Wax liquid is injected into a first mold assembly and a second mold assembly (not shown) to form two wax patterns 10, 20, such as a main-body wax pattern 10 and a striking-plate wax pattern 20.

2. Adhering the two wax patterns, as shown in FIG. 1. The two wax patterns 10, 20 are adhered to constitute a combination member.

3. Forming a ceramic shell 30 in slurry, as shown in FIG. 2. The combination pattern of the two wax patterns 10, 20 is immersed in slurry that forms a ceramic shell 30. After heating, the two wax patterns encompassed in the ceramic shell 30 are changed to the melting wax liquid for discharging it from the ceramic shell 30. The ceramic shell 30 forms an inward protrusion for correspondingly casting a rear recession of a golf club head, and a pouring gate at its side portion.

4. Investment casting an iron club head within the ceramic shell 30, as shown in FIG. 3. A melting alloy is poured into the ceramic shell 30 to fabricate an iron club head casting 40. After cooling, the iron club head casting 40 is formed within the ceramic shell 30 which can be broken to take out an integrated member of the iron club head casting 40.

According to the above-mentioned manufacturing method, the club head casting 40 forms a rear recession 41 at its rear side to constitute an undercut configuration that may enhance striking performance and satisfy the need of product quality. However, there are several drawbacks in manufacturing. For example, in adhering process the wax liquid is generally filled within a groove extending between the main-body wax pattern 10 and the striking-plate wax pattern 20. As best shown in FIGS. 1 a, 2 a and 3 a, when the filling process is incomplete, there exists a gap (a) remained between the main-body wax pattern 10 and the striking-plate wax pattern 20. Thus, the slurry may invade into the gap (a) in the immersing process for forming the ceramic shell. Consequently, the interior of the ceramic shell 30 may consists of burrs (b) after lost-wax processing. In investment casting process, the club head casting 40 may form many cracks (c) between a main-body portion and a striking-plate portion due to the burrs (b). Furthermore, as best shown in FIG. 1 b, an excess of the wax liquid (a′) cause an overflow from the groove between the main-body wax pattern 10 and the striking-plate wax pattern 20. After hardening, although the harden wax (a′) may fill the groove formed between the main-body wax pattern 10 and the striking-plate wax pattern 20, as best shown in FIG. 1, an irregular surface may remain on the groove of the combination member. Hence, there is a need for eliminating the irregular surface of the club head casting 40 by precision machining or polishing. This results in an additional process in manufacturing the golf club head. Especially, if the irregular surface is remained in the rear recession 41 of the club head casting 40, a machining tool is hard or inconvenient for inserting into the rear recession 41 of the club head casting 40 for processing. Certainly, it may result in difficulty of machining, and an increase of manufacturing cost and time.

The present invention intends to provide a manufacturing method for a golf club head which prefabricates an adhesive-filling groove between an opening of a main-body wax pattern and a striking-plate wax pattern. The adhesive-filling groove is filled with adhesive to combine the main-body wax pattern and the striking-plate wax pattern, and to form a smooth surface thereon in such a way to mitigate and overcome the above problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of this invention is to provide a manufacturing method for a golf club head which prefabricates an adhesive-filling groove between an opening of a main-body wax pattern and a striking-plate wax pattern. The adhesive-filling groove is filled with adhesive to combine the main-body wax pattern and the striking-plate wax pattern, and to form a smooth surface that may increase the overall quality of the golf club head. The manufacturing method for the golf club head in accordance with the present invention includes the steps of: prefabricating a main-body wax pattern and a striking-plate wax pattern, the main-body wax pattern providing with a rear opening and the striking-plate wax pattern providing with a stepped portion; initially combining the main-body wax pattern with the striking-plate wax pattern that remains an adhesive-filling groove between the rear opening of the main-body wax pattern and the stepped portion of the striking-plate wax pattern; filling adhesive into the adhesive-filling groove to constitute a combination member of the main-body wax pattern and the striking-plate wax pattern; immersing the combination member in slurry to form a ceramic shell and heating the ceramic shell for lost-wax processing; and pouring a melting alloy into the ceramic shell to form a club head casting.

Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of wax patterns of a conventional golf club head in accordance with the prior art;

FIG. 1 a is an enlarged view, in FIG. 1, of the wax patterns of the golf club head in accordance with the prior art;

FIG. 1 b is another enlarged view, similar to FIG. 1 a, of the wax patterns of the golf club head in accordance with the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a ceramic shell of the golf club head in accordance with the prior art;

FIG. 2 a is an enlarged view, in FIG. 2, of the ceramic shell of the golf club head in accordance with the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a club head casting in accordance with the prior art;

FIG. 3 a is an enlarged view, in FIG. 3, of the club head casting in accordance with the prior art;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a manufacturing method for a golf club head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of wax patterns of the golf club head in a first step of a manufacturing method in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the wax patterns of the golf club head in a second step of the manufacturing method in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 a is an enlarged view, in FIG. 6, of the wax patterns of the golf club head in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the combination of the wax patterns of the golf club head in a third step of the manufacturing method in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is another cross-sectional view of the combination of the wax patterns of the golf club head in a third step of the manufacturing method in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a ceramic shell covering the wax patterns of the golf club head in a fourth step of the manufacturing method in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the ceramic shell of the golf club head in a fourth step of the manufacturing method in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a club head casting in a fifth step of the manufacturing method in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of another club head casting in a fifth step of the manufacturing method in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of wax patterns of the golf club head in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The reference numerals of the first and second embodiments of the present invention have applied the identical numerals of the conventional golf club head members, as shown in FIGS. 1 through 3. The construction of golf club head member members in accordance with embodiments of the present invention have similar configuration and same function as that of the conventional golf club head members and detailed descriptions may be omitted.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a first step of the manufacturing method for the golf club head in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention prefabricates a main-body wax pattern 10 and a striking-plate wax pattern 20. The construction of the main-body wax pattern 10 provides with a rear opening 11 while that of the striking-plate wax pattern 20 providing with a stepped portion 21 at its rear side. First, wax liquid is injected into a mold assembly (not shown) for separately prefabricating the main-body wax pattern 10 and the striking-plate wax pattern 20. In the illustrated embodiment the rear opening 11 of the main-body wax pattern 10 connects the rear side to the front side. Furthermore, the rear opening 11 of the main-body wax pattern 10 includes a front stepped portion 12 proximate the front side for receiving the striking-plate wax pattern 20. The front stepped portion 12 of the main-body wax pattern 10 has an inner circumference substantially equal to that of an outer circumference of the striking-plate wax pattern 20. Correspondingly, the striking-plate wax pattern 20 includes the stepped portion 21 proximate its rear surface and confined within an annular wall 22 whose outer circumference is smaller than an inner circumference of the rear opening 11 of the main-body wax pattern 10.

Turning now to FIGS. 4, 6 and 6 a, a second step of the manufacturing method for the golf club head in accordance with the present invention initially combines the main-body wax pattern 10 with the striking-plate wax pattern 20. An adhesive-filling groove 50 is constructed and remained between the rear opening 11 of the main-body wax pattern 10 and the stepped portion 21 of the striking-plate wax pattern 20. Preferably, the adhesive-filling groove 50 may face an orientation parallel to a longitudinal axis of the rear opening 11 for conveniently, filling adhesive therethrough. In assembling, the front stepped portion 12 of the main-body wax pattern 10 is preheated or pre-treated with somewhat of wax liquid for combining with the stepped portion 21 of the striking-plate wax pattern 20 to constitute a combination member of the golf club head. The combination member of the golf club head essentially consists of an undercut portion. The combination member of the main-body wax pattern 10 with the striking-plate wax pattern 20 has a connection boundary consisting of an outer gap (a1) and an inner gap (a2) at its either end. The adhesive-filling groove 50 formed between the inner circumference of the rear opening 11 of the main-body wax pattern 10 and the outer circumference of the annular wall 22 of the striking-plate wax pattern 20 connects with the inner gap (a2).

Turning now to FIGS. 4, 7 and 8, a third step of the manufacturing method for the golf club head in accordance with the present invention fills adhesive 51 into the adhesive-filling groove 50 to combine the main-body wax pattern 10 with the striking-plate wax pattern 20. Consequently, a wax club head 100 forms with the combination member of the main-body wax pattern 10 and the striking-plate wax pattern 20. In operation, an injector (not shown) injects adhesive 51 into the adhesive-filling groove 50 via the rear opening 11 of the main-body wax pattern 10 after inserting the striking-plate wax pattern 20 into the main-body wax pattern 10. Preferably, material of the adhesive 51 has high fluidity and selected from a group consisting of wax liquid, resin, silicone, hot melt glue, methyl cyanoacrylate, ethyl cyanoacrylate, other suitable adhesive and a mixture thereof. The adhesive-filling groove 50 provides an adequate space for conveniently filling the adhesive 51 that may certainly seal the inner gap (a2). The adhesive-filling groove 50 can be completely filled with the adhesive 51 via the rear opening 11 of the wax club head 100 after combining the main-body wax pattern 10 with the striking-plate wax pattern 20. To accomplish excellent quality, a height of the hardened adhesive 51 is substantially equal to or slightly thinner than a depth of the adhesive-filling groove 50. Thus, a larger width of the outer gap (a1) or the inner gap (a2) is allowed between the main-body wax pattern 10 and the striking-plate wax pattern 20 that may simplify the entire process of adhering. Consequently, the wax club head 100 employs the adhesive 51 to fill the outer gap (a1) at its front side.

Turning now to FIGS. 4, 9 and 10, a fourth step of the manufacturing method for the golf club head in accordance with the present invention immerses the wax club head 100 in slurry to form a ceramic shell 30 and heats the ceramic shell 30 for lost-wax processing. As is understood in the art, the wax club head 100 is immersed in zirconium slurry and stucco. Generally, the ceramic shell 30 consists of a mold cavity 31 and a pouring gate (not shown). Subsequently, the ceramic shell 30 is heated to melt the wax patterns remained therein for carrying out lost-wax processing. If the adhesive-filling groove 50 of the wax club head 100 is filled with an adhesive material 51 except the wax liquid, an organic solvent is used to dissolve the adhesive material 51 after the lost-wax processing. Consequently, the adhesive material 51 can be removed from the ceramic shell 30.

Turning now to FIGS. 4, 10 and 11, a fifth step of the manufacturing method for the golf club head in accordance with the present invention pours a melting alloy into the ceramic shell 30 to fabricate a club head casting 40. After cleaning the mold cavity 31 of the ceramic shell 30, the melting alloy is poured into a hollow space of the mold cavity 31 of the ceramic shell 30 and cooled to harden the melting alloy. The club head casting 40 forms with a monolithic member which is taken out by breaking the ceramic shell 30. Generally, the club head casting 40 consists of a rear recession 41, a main body 42 and a striking plate 43. As best shown in FIG. 7, the hardened adhesive 51 has a thickness smaller than a height of the annular wall 22 of the stepped portion 21 (a depth of the adhesive-filling groove 50). Because of this, as best shown in FIG. 11, an annular channel 44 is located at a connection boundary of the rear surface of the striking plate 43 and the rear recession 41 where no crack can be remained. The annular channel 44 has a smooth surface and it results in a decrease in the requirement of precision machining. Also, the annular channel 44 has a relatively thin thickness of a bottom connecting between the main body 42 and the striking plate 43. The relatively thin thickness of the annular channel 44 may enhance elastic deformation of the striking plate 43 that has an advantage of striking performance. Desirably, the annular channel 44 is filled with paint material that may provide an excellent appearance of products. Correspondingly, a front surface of the club head casting 40 corresponding to the outer gap (a1) of the wax club head 100 is a specific smooth surface that may simplify the entire precision machining process.

Referring back to FIG. 7, alternatively, the hardened adhesive 51 has a thickness substantially equal to a depth of the adhesive-filling groove 50. Referring again to FIG. 12, the connection boundary of the rear surface of the striking plate 43 and the rear recession 41 has a smooth surface where no crack can be remained that may simplify the entire precision machining process.

Turning now to FIGS. 4 and 13, the manufacturing method for the golf club head in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention prefabricates a main-body wax pattern 10 and a striking-plate wax pattern 20. In comparison with the first embodiment, the main-body wax pattern 10 has a front rim adapted to connect with a stepped portion 21 of the striking-plate wax pattern 20. The rear recession 11 of the main-body wax pattern 10 and the annular wall 22 of the striking-plate wax pattern 20 commonly defines an adhesive-filling groove 50 for containing adhesive 51 that may provide an excellent appearance of products. Referring back to FIGS. 7 and 11, the annular channel 44 has a relatively thin thickness of a bottom connecting between the main body 42 and the striking plate 43 and may enhance elastic deformation of the striking plate 43 that has an advantage of striking performance.

Referring back to FIGS. 3 and 3 a, the conventional club head casting 40 has many cracks (c) due to the gap (a) formed between the main-body wax pattern 10 and the striking-plate wax pattern 20. Referring back to FIGS. 7 and 8, the adhesive-filling groove 50 is filled with the adhesive 51 to seal the inner gap (a2) formed between the main-body wax pattern 10 and the striking-plate wax pattern 20 that may provide an excellent appearance of products. In addition, the annular channel 44 of the club head casting 40 enhance elastic deformation of the striking plate 43 that has an advantage of striking performance.

Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to its presently preferred embodiment, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims. 

1. A manufacturing method for a golf club head comprising the steps of: prefabricating a main-body wax pattern and a striking-plate wax pattern, the main-body wax pattern providing with a rear opening and the striking-plate wax pattern providing with a stepped portion; initially combining the main-body wax pattern with the striking-plate wax pattern, and remaining an adhesive-filling groove between the rear opening of the main-body wax pattern and the stepped portion of the striking-plate wax pattern; filling adhesive into the adhesive-filling groove to constitute a wax club head of the main-body wax pattern and the striking-plate wax pattern; immersing the combination member in slurry to form a ceramic shell, and heating the ceramic shell for lost-wax processing; and pouring a melting alloy into the ceramic shell to form a club head casting.
 2. The manufacturing method for the golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein material of the adhesive has high fluidity and selected from a group consisting of wax liquid, resin, silicone, hot melt glue, methyl cyanoacrylate, ethyl cyanoacrylate, other suitable adhesive and a mixture thereof.
 3. The manufacturing method for the golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the rear opening of the main-body wax pattern connects a rear side to a front side; the rear opening includes a front stepped portion proximate the front side for receiving the striking-plate wax pattern.
 4. The manufacturing method for the golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the main-body wax pattern has a front rim adapted to connect with the stepped portion of the striking-plate wax pattern.
 5. The manufacturing method for the golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the adhesive-filling groove is filled with a hardened adhesive having a thickness slightly smaller than a depth of the adhesive-filling groove.
 6. The manufacturing method for the golf club head as defined in claim 5, wherein the club head casting consists of a striking plate, a rear recession and an annular channel; the annular channel located at a connection boundary of the rear surface and the rear recession.
 7. The manufacturing method for the golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the adhesive-filling groove is filled with a hardened adhesive having a thickness substantially equal to a depth of the adhesive-filling groove.
 8. The manufacturing method for the golf club head as defined in claim 1, further employing an organic solvent to dissolve the adhesive material for removing it from the ceramic shell.
 9. The manufacturing method for the golf club head as defined in claim 1, wherein the adhesive-filling groove may face an orientation parallel to a longitudinal axis of the rear opening for conveniently filling adhesive therethrough. 